The Central Election Commission (CEC) has refused to register
initiative groups of former presidential candidates Statkevich and
Mikhalevich.

“Statkevich was denied registration because he is
imprisoned, Mikhalevich – because he does not reside in Belarus since
March 2011 and because he is on the international wanted list,” CEC head
Lidzia Yarmoshyna said Thursday at a press conference in Minsk, Interfax news agency reports.

According to her, imprisoned persons and
non-residents of Belarus “do not have active or passive electoral
rights” under Belarusian laws.

Yarmoshyna also said, “Statkevich filed
applications to 56 constituency election commissions, but as we learned
from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Statkevich did not file documents
via the administration of the prison where he serves his term,” “We are
not going to figure out how he did it. It is a task for the Ministry of
Internal Affairs,” the CEC head said.

In May 2011, the court found Statkevich guilty of
organizing a protest rally against the rigged results of the
presidential election and sentenced him to 6 years in a medium security
penal colony.

Like other 2010 presidential candidates,
Mikhalevich was accused of organizing the protest rally. After the
release on his own recognizance, Mikhalevich said he had been tortured
in the KGB jail and refused to cooperate with the security services. The
politician fled to the Czech Republic and got political asylum there.
Belarusian prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant for
Mikhalevich.